INDIAN HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -The Charter Act of 1813 was the first concrete step towards modern education within the country but the foundation of the modern education system in India was laid by Macaulay’s Minutes of 1835. Hence option 2 is correct.

Detailed explanation-2: -On 2 February 1835, British historian and politician Thomas Babington Macaulay presented his ‘Minute on Indian Education’ that sought to establish the need to impart English education to Indian ‘natives’. This minute is a very important document for UPSC history.

Detailed explanation-3: -Macaulay’s Minute clearly stated these intentions: education was to “form a class who may be interpreters between us and the millions whom we govern; a class of persons, Indian in blood and colour, but English in taste, in opinions, in morals, and in intellect”.

Detailed explanation-4: -In 1835, it was decided that western sciences and literature would be imparted to Indians through the medium of English by Lord William Bentinck’s government. Bentinck had appointed Thomas Babington Macaulay as the Chairman of the General Committee of Public Instruction.

Detailed explanation-5: -Macaulayism refers to the policy of introducing the English education system to British colonies.